Steps to On-Time, On-Budget Project Delivery

20.05.2009
Businesses of all sizes embark on thousands of projects for new products and services every year. Unfortunately, most projects are doomed, or at launch, because the original success criteria were not met. Some project failures lead to delays in product launches, such as the AirBus A380; others, like , incur huge cost overruns. These examples, as well as the results from survey after survey, show that American businesses have not been able to figure out how to consistently get products and services delivered on time, on budget and with the highest quality.

Why is that?

Businesses invest a great deal each year in people, consultants, processes and technology to improve project success rates, but to no avail. Don't get me wrong, there are individual examples of excellence, and success rates have improved over the years, but there has not been the kind of dramatic increase that one would expect given the size of the investments businesses have made.

The bottom line is, businesses can talk a good game, but the majority are not ready or willing to make the "true" investments needed to achieve meaningful change--the type of change that will deliver on time, on budget, and with high quality near 100 percent of the time. There are eight steps that, if followed as a single unit and truly embraced by the entire organization, provide the roadmap to .

1. Definition

It is critical to start with a solid foundation. The foundation must be built at the organizational level and not with individuals. It is imperative that, from the CEO down, there is understanding and buy-in when it comes to defining or redefining the following items: